Private Valentine - Nick Valentine X Reader
by Shadow-Cipher
Summary: This isn't my proudest project, but I'm trying to post a few new things because I'd like to revive this account. So, here, a project for a different website.
Your eyes flickered brightly as you sauntered quietly into the streets of Diamond City. It had been ages since you had last dropped by this tourist trap. It might have been bright and flashy, beautiful to first gaze, but around every corner seemed to lurk a sinister secret, or a darkly force waiting to snatch you up. The lights speckled in the highest reaches of the city lit up the otherwise dark night and while part of you was happy to be out of the unknown blackness, another wanted to crawl into its arms, for none could be as welcoming. Normally, you made trips here brief, skirting into the trash-filled streets with the utmost silence and slinking back out the front gate before anyone could so much as acknowledge your existence. However, you had business here, important business, and you needed to move.
Quietly, you gazed down to the sheet of paper in your hands, crumpled as it was. You had been formally requested to visit Diamond City by a certain private detective, and you were not one to decline an invite, especially this important. According to this message, the private detective had recently obtained information that would assist you in your recent endeavors, and had it been anyone other than him who made such claims, you never would've began to believe them, especially not when they attempted to lure you into Diamond City.  
The streets were much quieter at night, lonely too, although you had never been on to much surround yourself with others. It wasn't so much that you hated people, but that distrust was an easy emotion to be guided by in an emancipated pit of death like the wasteland itself.  
Despite the stunning lack of people, Diamond City never truly slept, and within the light beams, you could still spot the security of the green jewel itself. The guards themselves were usually unnerving - rather whiny too - with their full facial helmets. You could never tell if they were looking at you or the object behind you, or if they were even paying attention at all for that matter. They would stiffen up as you passed by, almost as if they were required to respond to your very presence.  
You quickly made your way out of the vividly glow of the many street lights and into a back alley, where the vigour faded almost as quickly as it had existed at first. The alley was dark and quiet, lonely. Security seemed to hold specific rules on where they did and didn't patrol, and aside from the rarity of patrols back in this area, you found it would be unlikely you could see them in this darkness anyways. The tall walls and overheard roofing effectively blocked out the rest of Diamond City. You would swear you walked into a different world.  
Ahead of you was a weak, but still clear pink glow. It was quite evident despite how little strength the lights bothered to push, and you'd recognize the signature heart of the Valentine Detective Agency anywhere. You smiled at it. Most people you heard in Diamond City called it corny - and others went the extra step to call it dumb as hell - or obnoxious, but you always liked it. It was clever. Furthermore, it was adorable.  
You placed your hand on the sign as you neared the agency. Your eyes flicked for a moment to the door, then back to the sign. It was warm, unlike the chill night, though with wasteland nights, anything with even a little heat would warm your muscles and bones.  
Then, you pushed away from the sign, your back glowing pink as you moved to the door. Your hand lay on the metal door as you pushed it open. It took some strain, as many wasteland doors often do. Perhaps nobody had bothered to fix it, make it easier to open. Unlikely it was necessary. Unlikely anyone but you even noticed.  
The inside of the agency was pitch black, and as you closed the door behind you, the pink glow of the sign was shut out and the room turned into a haunting, chilling pit. Part of you felt paranoid and you moved your hand to rest on your gun. Friendly place or not, you still didn't like the lack of visibility.  
"Y/N, its late." a painfully familiar, smooth voice greeted you.  
You instinctively reached out, hoping to bump into someone. You couldn't see two feet in front of you. Out of the corner of your eye, there was a vivid yellow glow, and you forced your attention back to it as soon as you noted it. Your mind quickly pushed the fog clouding it aside and processed the glow as the eyes of the synthetic detective himself.  
You focused on the yellow glowing, although you were literally incapable of seeing any other part of the detective himself. "I'm sorry, Valentine. I was held up. There were Super Mutants and I didn't want to get into a huge firefight with them."  
He chuckled. "Whoa, slow down. You aren't bothering me. I don't sleep, remember?" There was a pause before he added, "And call me Nick. The formalities stopped being necessary a long time ago."  
"Then why are you hanging out in the dark?" you immediately questioned, your body shifting in place. Your eyes never moved, though, for you worried if you took your gaze off him for half a moment the yellow would vanish from your sight and you would lose him.  
"I said I don't sleep." Nick reminded you, and you noted a shift in the yellow glow moving upwards. You were pretty sure the rotten stairway to the upper level was in that area. "Ellie needs sleep. I just hang around, read or something."  
"In the dark?" you questioned immediately.  
Nick replied, "I have my own personal nightlight." You couldn't deny his eyes did glow rather aggressively; they would probably illuminate an area well.  
Despite all these casual conversations, Nick still had a purpose for inviting you here, and you weren't going to waste time distracting him with casual questions when there was business he wanted to tend to. "So, what did you have to tell me, Nick? Your note said you had some information or something I needed. I don't want to waste your time."  
"I've got all the time in the world to waste at this moment, actually. I've got so much time possible to waste I might consider selling it in the market, buy myself a new hand." answered Nick coolly. "Now, as for what I needed to tell you, it's approaching. You're hasty." You raised your voice in protest, but Nick chuckled, "I don't mind at all."  
Then, the yellow vanished. You gasped, glancing around hopelessly in the pitch black to track the synth detective. "N-Nick? Where are you? Nick! This isn't... Nick! Open your eyes, Nick. I know you closed your eyes. Goddammit, Nick, I can't see well in the dark." you protested as you nervously attempted and failed to locate the synth in the impenetrable darkness.  
Nick was painfully quiet and you weren't certain what he was up to. You kept suddenly silent as you listened for footsteps, but failed to hear any. Either he was incredibly silent, which seemed unlikely for someone made of metal, or he never moved. You hazarded a chance to move forward, thrusting out your hand in hopes it would bump into something metallic. You had zero inkling as to how much progress you had made towards the detective - or the other side of the room for that matter.  
Abruptly, you felt a hand brush your shoulder. "Nick, how did you get behind me?"  
You weren't answered, verbally or otherwise, as the detective wrapped his synthetic hand around your mouth and clamped on tightly. You gasped, releasing the beginning of a yelp before he had you silenced. You were moments from struggling in his grasp before you remembered that Nick wasn't a bad guy in the slightest - you should've realized this immediately. That, however, begged the question of why he grabbed you.  
"Nick, what's going on down there?" a female voice inquired worriedly from upstairs.  
You felt movement behind you from Nick, but you remained still and quiet. Nick then called, "Nothing to worry about, Ellie! Y/N and I are just going out for a while to discuss her case!" You felt him wrap his free arm around your chest, pulling you back into his body. He moved his head towards you, resting near your ear and whispering in his usual charming voice, "Don't worry at all. I just wanna take you out for a late night stroll. We have a lot to talk about, indirectly speaking. Do you trust me?"  
You could feel his breath on your shoulder. Even though a part of you shivered, your mind barked that Nick wasn't a bad guy. Thus, you nodded your head.  
As soon as you delivered this non-verbal reply, you were practically being pushed ahead by the private detective. Nick released his grasp on your chest, reaching forward. You weren't certain what he was grabbing, but eventually he pulled back. It took you a few moments to realize he was now waving something in your face, and you noted this as he hummed, "Think you can carry this for me?"  
You couldn't tell what it was. Even as you accepted it from him, it wasn't any more clear what exactly it was. It was small, metallic in its own regard, but Nick wrapped his arm back around your chest and flattened your arms to your side, effectively making you incapable of bringing it into your gaze. You played with it in your hands as he guided you outside, into the pink glow of the sign. When you tried to move your head down to see it in the new, yet dull, light, Nick moved your head back up.  
"Not yet." he hummed softly. "I hope you don't mind we're going where security doesn't."  
You were genuinely confused about what was going on as Nick guided you away from the agency, opposite the direction you had approached. Admittedly, you didn't fully understand the layout of this city, and after a couple turns that almost seemed like they were designed to confuse you, you had just as much of an idea of your location as you would if you took off blindly into the wasteland. The paths were dark, but in the sky was the distinct light from the green jewel. You were still within the walls, but far from the middle.  
Nick moved at a solid pace, not so slow is was painful, but also not so quick that it was impossible to keep up with. His grip never faltered in either position, one hand held strongly over your mouth and the other around your chest. He stood well over you, intimidating in some ways, but it still felt like a guardian was with you. It felt like that even as he held you like he was going to take you to a dark place where you would be lost forever.  
The two of you came to a pause in front of a door to a small house. "You still trust me, right?" Nick asked softly. There was not a single ill intention or speck of venom laced in his tone.  
You nodded once more at him, a movement he allowed while still keeping a good hold on you.  
He didn't verbally reply. He simply pulled open the door, and as the two of you entered the building and the door closed with a vibrant slam behind you, Nick released you. You felt him brush past you across the room, just as dark as his agency was. For a moment you lost his figure in the darkness, but then that vibrant yellow danced into your vision again. "Push the button."  
For a few moments, you were uncertain what he was referencing to, then you realized he was glancing down at the item in your hands. You brought it straight up into your face, where it was visible, albeit barely. It did seem to be a controller of sorts, with only one button visible on its entirety. There was only a weak moment of hesitation before you pressed the button.  
As you pressed the button, the room immediately become illuminated in vivid lights. Reds and pinks danced on the walls, as well as in your eyes, as bright neon letters shined into view. You didn't even look at Nick. All your eyes beheld was a message spelled out in these flashy neon letters. It read "Be my Valentine Y/N" in shining colours.  
Now, you turned your attention to Nick's tall and dashing figure. For the first time tonight, you could fully see him and he looked beautiful in the glow of the lights. He flashed you a grin as he lifted up a hand to adjust his fedora, kicking forward a foot in an attempt to appeal to you. He was still wearing his signature dirty brown trench-coat, and you gazed powerful at his yellow eyes, the pink seeming to glow off his synthetic skin, oddly constructed as it was. As he lowered his hand, you noted it was the metallic one. You always liked his metallic hand.  
"N-Nick." you muttered nervously as he smiled at you. "You... but I thought..."  
He moved in your direction as you muttered his name, taking your hands in his. You had never actually held his hand and it felt a little odd as the metallic hand's fingers sharply attempted to curl around yours. "You thought I wasn't the type to settle down?" You nodded his way. "I have..." He swallowed. "Well, let's just say I have commitment issues. That isn't important, though, because I remember meeting you in that vault. People in the Commonwealth are capable of being good, but most of them are a timid good, not to tie a vicious word like cowardly on it. They mean well, but they don't have the guts to stand up for others, especially a synth. You willingly put yourself in the path of those men for me, despite having little clue who I was. You allowed yourself to get shot at, injured, and could've possibly died, to reach me. I watched you stand up to men you had no quarrel with to defend a person you had no reason to protect, and a synth nonetheless. I might be treated better than most of those synths you see, but there will always be a certain level of awkwardness with people when I'm around. Its like they're waiting for me to switch sides, or maybe for the Institute to turn around and reclaim me. Either way, I'm an odd variable, and you didn't care."  
"You needed help. It didn't matter who you were exactly." you said to him, managing a small smile his way. "You were a good man and that's all I needed to know." You then chuckled. "This is really flashy, Nick."  
"I had the letters left over." Nick said, and you decided not to question where he got them from in the first place. "Today is Valentine's Day, after all, so I figured now was the best time to try this little stunt. I want to commit to someone, someone who will make the Commonwealth a better place. You. Will you have me, Y/N?"  
For a few moments, you find yourself looking behind Nick to the flashy message he constructed for you. Then, you looked back at him, gazing into his beautiful yellow eyes, vivid and bright. He was dashing, handsome, and you couldn't imagine a better person to have asked for your hand.  
"Yes, Nick." you replied. "I love you."  
Nick smiled back at you as you delivered him one. "I'll love you always. Happy Valentine's Day."  
"Happy Valentine's Day to you too." you returned.  
Nick then moved in towards you quickly, shifting his hands around your backside as he gently pulled you towards him. His touch was gentle, loving, soft, and you hoped to never separate yourself from the detective again. You pressed your lips against his. His synthetic skin felt strange, cold as well, but it was still a touch you appreciated feeling. Your bodies became one, and you held him as he held you. As Nick closed his eyes, you followed suit, and the two of you sank into a kiss that you hoped would last all night.


End file.
